Abstract

The decrease in hardness induced by gamma irradiation in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) has been investigated. The hardness is assumed to decrease linearly with the concentration of radiation-induced defects. Annealing at high temperatures induces defect annihilation as tracked by an increase in hardness. The annihilation follows first-order kinetics during isothermal annealing. The dependence of hardness on the reciprocal of the time constant satisfies the Arrhenius equation, and the corresponding activation energy of the kinetic process decreases with increasing dose. The hardness of postannealed PMMA decreases linearly with increasing dose.